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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bark — to shout
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bat — the animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. board — to get on
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. file — a tool
  15. board — a committee
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. club — for dancing
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com